The Gorton and Denton by-election in Greater Manchester was held after Andrew Gwynne, elected as the Labour MP in 2024 but sitting as an independent after his suspension from the party, resigned on medical grounds in January 2026. Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, applied to be Labour’s candidate, but a committee of Labour’s National Executive Committee voted 8–1 not to let him stand.
On 26 February 2026 the Green Party’s Hannah Spencer won with 40.7% of the vote, ahead of Reform UK’s Matt Goodwin on 28.7% and Labour’s Angeliki Stogia on 25.4%. It was the Greens’ first by-election win. Labour had won the seat in 2024 with 50.8% of the vote and a majority of 13,413; the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats each won under 2% in the by-election.
The other six candidates each won 0.4% or less.
The by-election shows how far support has moved away from the two largest parties. A seat Labour won with an absolute majority in 2024 was taken by a minor party, with Reform UK second and the Conservatives losing their deposit. Sir John Curtice described it as a “seismic moment”.
It also shows how first past the post works in a three-way contest: the winner took the seat with about two in five votes, and the result turned on which party voters saw as best placed to win. But it was one by-election, on a turnout under half, in a seat with its own local features, so it is weak evidence on its own about how a general election would go.
By-elections often go against the governing party, as Labour’s chair Anna Turley argued, and turnout was 47.5%. A single result may reflect mid-term protest rather than lasting change in party support.
The seat had particular features: a large Muslim and student population in Gorton, an endorsement of the Greens by The Muslim Vote, no Workers Party candidate after it won 10.3% in 2024, and Labour’s decision not to let Andy Burnham stand. The New Statesman’s Ben Walker noted that the Greens may find seats with less favourable voters harder to win.
Supporters of first past the post can argue that the result shows the system lets a new party win where its support is concentrated, while still giving the constituency a single, clearly identified MP.
Nigel Farage claimed the result reflected sectarian voting and cheating, and an observer group reported family voting. However, polling staff reported no such issues and the police found no evidence of an offence, so the result stands.
The facts and their significance still stand.
A clear recent case of a minor party taking a seat from the governing party, and of first past the post in a three-way contest.
Signed off for students.
Origin: Human-written · Reviewer: Editor
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